Furious 7 retains the tone of a wholesome action movie, like the last two entries in the Fast & Furious series, instead of being just a street-racers-vs-cops flick like the initial films. And with non-stop action from start to finish, it’s a thrilling high-speed ride and also a beautiful goodbye to the late Paul Walker.
Directed by horror-genre specialist James Wan (of Insidious and The Conjuring fame), Furious 7 lines up all the original stars from the franchise. Vin Diesel returns as 'the alpha' or the gang leader and fearless racer Dominic Toretto, while Walker retains the role of the cop-gone-rogue Brian O’Conner who has settled down with Dom’s sister Mia (Jordana Brewster).
Michelle Rodriguez appears as Letty Ortiz, Dom's kick-ass yet emotionally torn girlfriend. There's also Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson who showed up in the fifth film as FBI agent Luke Hobbs and hung around ever since. Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce and Ludacris as Tej Parker complete Dom's team and provide comic relief.
However, breaking monotony are the several new refreshing additions to the franchise, with the chief of them being Jason Statham who features as the ruthless machine-like super-villain Deckard Shaw, the older brother of the sixth installment's villain Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). Kurt Russell turns up as unspecified government agent Frank Petty, while Blood Diamond's Djimon Hounsou is terrorist mastermind Jakande and Game of Thrones' Nathalie Emmanuel is computer hacker Megan Ramsey, who is very much in demand.
You also get to see popular Thai stuntman Tony Jaa locking horns with Walker for a couple of crisp, well-choreographed one-on-one fight scenes, while UFC champion Ronda Rousey gets down and dirty with Rodriguez in an enticing all-girl fistfight. And if all that is not enough, there are cameos from Bollywood actor Ali Fazal and Tokyo Drift's protagonist Lucas Black. Yes, that's quite a lot of actors even for a Grade A Hollywood action movie.
The plot of Furious 7 is straightforward and predictable. Deckard wants revenge and nothing will stop him from destroying Dom and his team, who were responsible for putting his sibling in a coma-like state. Meanwhile, big money is up for grabs and national security is at risk as Petty tries to outsmart Jakande as both forces look to get hold of hacker Ramsey and her futuristic tracking device called God's Eye.
The script carries a few loopholes while some scenes are laughable. Like the one where Hobbs, who had recruited Dom to hunt down Deckard, is completely unaware of the much-awaited final showdown between the two in Los Angeles. He had to get his football broadcast interrupted by breaking news to realise there are terrorists and evil drones flying around in the neighbourhood and that he needs to get up from the sickbed to rescue his pals.
All the actors look like a million bucks but the performances continue to remain a shuffle between a range of stock expressions - irritated, angry and furious - for the most part. Also, the romantic exchanges between Dom and Letty feel corny and look out of place in this action flick.
But of course, one doesn't go to a Fast & Furious film to analyse the plot, acting or cinematic value. You are there for the pure, adrenaline-infused fun, provided mainly by the flashy and screeching kinetic action. Well, then you are in for a treat as there's more than enough excitement offered on that front.
There are jaw-dropping car stunts, exhilarating chase sequences, inventive action scenes and elaborate set-pieces. There's enough globetrotting on offer as the action shifts from Tokyo to Azerbaijan and from Abu Dhabi to Los Angeles. There are also plenty of anonymous women walking up and down in bikinis or less.
Director Wan is in fine form in his action genre debut and captures all the chic, edge-of-the-seat scenes with panache. He is at his best while filming the chase sequences, putting us in the driver's seat and cutting away to speedometer dials and to pedals being stomped and gears being shifted rapidly to give us the experience of being inside those shiny, speeding demons.
The stunts are outrageous and over-the-top but it's a fun ride. Like that scene where Dom's team members skydive in separate cars from a C-130 aircraft and parachute onto a mountain, or another humdinger where a luxury sports car containing Dom and Brian goes flying from skyscraper to skyscraper in Abu Dhabi. Yes, they are gravity-defying and ridiculous at times but are shot magnificently and you'd devour them gleefully.
Furious 7 ends with a touching tribute to Paul Walker, who died in a car crash in late 2013. When the actor died, his scenes were not completed and the makers have done a great job of digitally incorporating his face onto stand-in actors which included Walker's brothers. The film's final moments, which celebrate Walker's journey by bringing in footage from previous movies and ends with a poignant goodbye, will leave a lump in your throat.
I'm going with three-and-a-half stars out of five for James Wan's Furious 7. It's loud and doesn't make sense at times, but it's jolly good fun and not a bad way to spend two hours, even if you - like me - are not a diehard fan of the series.
RIP Paul
Rating: 3.5/5